The Village Incident
by Moksey
Summary: Aang and the crew discover a large village. It's huge and beautiful and the people seem nice enough. The crew each discover something of interest, and decide to stay for just a few more days. Their desisions put them in terrible danger. My first!
1. Discovery

In one sudden moment, Aang soared up into the sunrise filled sky. It was a beautiful morning, perfect flying weather, and Aang was glad to get off the ground. He knew that Katara and Sokka would only groan on that statement, for, in their opinion, they spent enough time on Appa. But they would never understand the sweet relief leaving the ground, and seemingly the world; of catching the morning breeze and rising into the sunrise. In fact, no one would. There was no one on the entire globe who would understand this feeling of independence, of freedom, and more importantly, of fun. The thought caused a ping of pain in a stomach for a moment, but it was quickly washed away as he took a dive to get a closer look of the earth below. For a few seconds, all he saw below him were numerous trees. He sighed. As much as Aang loved the forest and its creatures, you did get tired of seeing green after awhile. Aang bended himself faster, and caught a glimpse of a small village. No wait, this wasn't small, but it was easy to mistake something as small when you were up in the endless sky, where everything below seemed small and insignificant.

Aang took another smooth glide towards the town, and his eyes widened. Not only was this village not small, it was huge! He circled above the central plaza for a moment, when he realized this was probably not the smartest thing to do. The town could be infested with firebenders. But still, not even his worries could extinguish his curiosity. Aang took a final dive and then instantly flipped up, causing him to land perfectly on the ground. He had done it so fast and perfect, there was not a person who noticed his existence. And it seemed going unnoticed would be hard here. The streets were packed with people of all kinds, but not a soldier to be seen. Relieved, the Avatar took a moment to search the nearby shops and stands. He approached a large stand that seemed to be selling different jewelry items. Aang picked up a necklace, interested. The thick chain was coal black and shined in the sun. Hanging from the necklace, were teeth, all of different sizes and shapes.

"Hey!" Cried a pompous young man, Aang guessed to be the stand owner. "That's very expensive merchandise! And you've got your dirty finger prints all over it!" The man grabbed a handkerchief from his pocket and began wiping the necklace hurriedly.

"Sorry." Aang apologized. "I was just wondering what kind of teeth those were!"

The man eyed Aang suspiciously, but instantly took on a very businesslike tone. "These are rhino teeth; very hard and tough, as well as attractive." He gestured, showing off the teeth by flicking them with his finger.

"Do rhino's _have_ teeth?" Aang asked, placing a finger on his chin and staring diligently at the necklace.

"Of course they have teeth!" The stand owner replied, hiding the necklace behind his handkerchief. Although his voice was a little shaky, as if he was unsure.

"Are you sure? Because I've never actually seen any rhino teeth before…"

"How many rhinos have you seen, boy?"

Aang pondered for a moment. "Four. No wait five. I can't remember... but a lot." Aang picked up another necklace of the sort and examined it again. "I don't think these are rhino teeth."

"Listen kid, are you going to by it or what?" the man asked impatiently. All this distraction was bad for business.

"Buy?" Aang started. "I don't have any money."

"No money?" the owner asked quietly. "You don't have any money?"

Aang shook his head as a reply, a toothy grin accompanying his gesture. "Well then LEAVE MY STAND!" the owner yelled, pushing Aang back. Trying to balance himself from the fall with airbending, he whirled his stick around. But the stick hit a fragile stand, knocking its contents and Aang to the ground.

"Gah! My cabbages!"

"Sorry!" Aang apologized, flipping himself off the ground, and facing himself towards the merchant, who was waving his arms around frantically. "I really didn't mea-" But he was interrupted with screams of frustration from the cabbage man. Unfortunately for Aang, this temper tantrum was attracting attention. Many of the shoppers, who had just recently crowded around the many stands, were now mobbing around Aang, most staring at his airbender tattoos.

"Are you… the Avatar?" An older man, with a bushy mustache whispered quietly into Aang's ear. The whole street seemed to stop with his few words, as quiet as they were. It was a tingling sensation to Aang's ears, to hear loud chatters of people, and then suddenly, nothing. What should he tell them? Well the truth of course. But how would they react? Would they reject him, like the old fisherman did? Would they mistake him as an imposter like those on Kyoshsi Island? Or would they try to capture him, like Zuko? It was hard to tell now-a-days. The Avatar used to be completely trusted by all the people of every nation, but things were different now.

"I am." The Avatar answered simply. Suddenly the street was once again filled with the voices of the town's people. Aang could hear the whispers of "Oh the Avatar!" "Wow! Finally." and "I _told _you!" Suddenly, the mustached man began to clap, and soon the whole town was applauding. This attention made Aang go red in the cheeks for a moment, and he couldn't help but give a modest smile. However, inside his stomach he felt a pang of guilt and worry. These people were so confident in him. Him - Aang, the playful airbender was really going to save the world? A (one hundred and) twelve year old boy, was going to fight off and conquer an entire nation, and bring peace to the world? He had to have faith in himself, like the people had faith in him. Otherwise, the world was doomed to the Fire Nation. But still, even as he stood there soaking up the attention, smiling in the limelight, he was mildly frightened. For these people, for Katara and Sokka, for himself.

Suddenly, a familiar sound accompanied the applause. An animal noise. Aang took a glance toward the sky. "Appa!"

People cleared the way as Appa took a smooth landing into the streets. On his saddle, Aang could clearly see his two companions looking at him with quizzical expressions. Aang ran over to them, wondering how to explain this odd scene.

"Man, Aang. You can't go anywhere without forming a new fan club, can you?" Sokka commented boredly.

"What happened?" Katara asked in her concerned, motherly voice, ignoring Sokka's comment.

"Well… I _might_ have just _mentioned_ how I was the Avatar and they kind of…"

"Went crazy?" Sokka offered. Aang looked over his shoulder, viewing the townspeople, young and old. Some were waving, or cheering at them, and some were wearing looks of mild confusion, as the others just had looks of completely bafflement plastered their faces.

"Yeah." Aang replied as he put on a smile and waved to a girl about his age. Momo chipped, and climbed up on his shoulder as he did so. The girl laughed. Katara looked at him worriedly.

"It's nice to see that people are excited to have you back, but try not to get too absorbed in all this. I'd really hate to have Kyoshi Island over again."

Aang stared at Katara, mildly annoyed. "I'm not getting sucked into that again, Katara. I learned my lesson the first time." His voice was a bit sourer than he would have liked. Did Katara think he really liked getting all this attention, while he had more important things to worry about? _Oh no._ He looked at Katara's concerned face. _I think I just made it worse._ Katara was about to reply, when the mustached man bounced up to Aang again. The man grabbed Aang's hand and shook it anxiously.

"Wow! Avatar! It's such a great honor to have you in our town! Please! Will you join us for our feast we are having this evening! I would be so pleased if you would! And your friends may come along too if they would like!" He continued, flipping a hand towards Katara and Sokka, who were still placed on Appa's back. Aang looked at them pleadingly. He was hungry, and they were low on supplies. They could take a break today.

"Please?" Aang asked playfully, as he shot on a puppy-dog-eyed look at Katara. Katara sighed and looked at Sokka hopefully. Unfortunately for Katara, Sokka was just as hungry, if not more, as Aang.

"A _feast_, Katara. With _food_." Sokka announced, a pleading look covering his face.

Katara was defeated. "Fine. I guess we _do_ need some supplies. But _just_ for today. We have to get to the North Pole soon."

"Excellent! Just excellent!" the man exclaimed. "Well this way to your rooms." The man started clearing a line through the villagers who were now scattering about back to their stands. Sokka jumped up behind him.

"Forget the rooms, where's the feast?"

Katara took a quick scan over her room. It was beautiful, gorgeous, amazing. Everything in the room was perfectly placed and lovely. From the large swirling curtains down to the small vase of pale, lavender flowers. One of the nicest rooms she'd ever been in by far. Katara glided over to the bed and examined it. The blankets were a delicate blue that matched the other main colors of the room. It looked so soft and Katara was sure that if she even touched them, she would fall right asleep. The room and its colors reminded her painfully of home. Even though none of the things from the South Pole weren't nearly this lovely, the room seemed just as comforting as her grandmother's touch and the warm smiles from all the children. Katara felt an uncomfortable sensation in her stomach and she realized she was terribly homesick.

"Isn't this place great, Katara!" Aang's playful voice rang from behind her. Katara turned around with a smile. Aang was sporting a ridiculous robe that the village leader must have given him. It was much too big for him. The robe dragged on the floor, and was already forming rips and tears at the bottom. The sleeves were an arm too long and Aang had tried to make them fit better by rolling them up. It just made them look longer. Katara giggled. Just like Aang to cheer her up again.

"Yeah. It's great, Aang. Kind of reminds me of home." Katara replied. Her voice was shaky, and she could feel her smile disappear. More flip flops were forming in her stomach. How much she missed home. She wanted to get to the North Pole quickly, to fill in this empty feeling, but she didn't want to crush Aang's happiness. He deserved a break. He had been through so much recently, and he was holding up great. Katara tried to restore her smile. "What's with the robe?"

"Nori gave it to me!" Aang replied, mentioning the mustached village leader. "What do you think?"

"I think you look ridiculous." Katara replied truthfully. "It doesn't even fit you!"

Aang shrugged with a toothy grin. "I guess your right." Aang attempted to take off the large robe, but his feet got tangled in the fabric. He tripped, but Katara caught him.

"Are you ok?" She asked, pulling Aang upright. Aang's face was flushed with enjoyment.

"Yeah, yeah. Perfect! Come on!" Aang exclaimed, pulling off the rest of the robe. "Let's go find Sokka!"

"Good idea. Let's hope he hasn't eaten the village dry." Katara smirked. Aang laughed as he walked out of the door. Katara followed him, taking another look at the beautiful room.

They walked out of the inn, only to see that once again the streets were infested with twice as many people as before. It seemed that news had gotten out, and everyone and their brother were out in the market place to see the Avatar. Quickly, Katara pulled Aang down an alleyway. They would surely be mobbed if anyone saw them.

"How many people _live_ around here?" Katara exclaimed, gawking at the huge number of people. "The sooner we get out of here, the better. News is sure to spread like wildfire with all these people."

"I wonder if there are any benders. Maybe _waterbenders_." Aang said, slyly. He didn't want to leave. Not yet.

Katara took another scan of the people, a surge of hope over-taking her body. "Waterbenders? Here? What gives you that kind of idea?"

Aang shrugged. "You would think with all these people, and no Fire Nation soldiers, there has to be protection of some sort."

Katara looked at Aang. For a pretty immature kid, he could be very intelligent. "Yeah, but there are probably more earthbenders than waterbenders. If there are any. I mean this is the _Earth_ Kingdom. Plus, I don't see any water sources around here. "

Aang shrugged and began walking down the alleyway. Katara followed him before taking one last scan of the crowd. _If there are any waterbenders… maybe we can stay a bit longer._


	2. Suspicious

**Disclaimer**: **I do not own Avatar: The Last Airbender. I simply enjoy using the plot line and characters that the talented people who made Avatar have graciously created for our enjoyment.  
**

Sokka had found heaven.

He gawked when he first arrived, mesmerized by the numerous varieties of food. They had everything here. There was sweet cherry delights, puffy donut jellies, wheat muffins, several different pastries, grilled fish, steaming hot birds, meats Sokka never heard of before, red and blue berries, whole rice, peaches, juicy pears, different cobblers and cakes, chunky soups, and salads. Sokka passed on the salad, but engorged everything in sight – for free. Yep. Sometimes hanging around famous people had its perks.

Many people started hanging around him. _Probably think Aang will show up soon._ Sokka thought. The people looked bored as they waited for the Avatar, and watched this boy eat hours on end.

"Man. Aang and I sure had some _good times._" Sokka started, stretching. A few people glanced up to him, but many continued to stare blankly at the entrance. "Why, there was this one time where Aang was just, doing his peace-keeping thing you know, when a few ugly canyon crawlers started coming after us. Well, Aang was caught off guard, you see, so he got knocked back. I don't blame 'im, but I started going after them crawlers. Picked up my boomerang, and I hit one straight in the eye! It screeched and ran off. The other one was looking pretty scared by this time, but I didn't let my guard down…"

A girl who had been hanging by the walls the whole time left out a laugh, but covered her mouth, giving it the effect of a snort. She seemed to be ignored however, because a few others began looking at Sokka with a new interest.

"Canyon crawlers? Oh! I hate those!" Replied an attractive girl with long black hair. She crinkled her nose, as if she smelled something awful.

"Have you even _seen_ a canyon crawler before, Emi?" asked the girl by the wall with a smirk.

"Of course I have!" replied Emi, looking offended. "Well... pictures of them anyway. From the books Kasumi teaches us with."

The girl narrowed her eyes as if Emi had just said an offensive curse word. She turned around to the wall and mumbled something undistinguishable under her breath.

"Sho's just jealous." Emi explained to Sokka.

"Sho? Isn't that a man's name?" Sokka asked Sho.

Sho flipped around on her heal. "It is. Picked it out myself."

"She's crazy."

"Who's Kasumi?" Sokka asked. His curiosity had peeked. What was with Sho? Why was she so ticked at Emi?

"Kasumi…" Emi started.

"Fills your minds with trash." Sho interrupted.

"Hear that? It's jealousy." Emi smirked. "Kasumi is the woman who teaches the ladies in this village."

"What does she teach you?"

"Trash."

"What she teaches us, is secret to all men, and what the men are taught, is secret to all the ladies."

"What are the men taught?" Sokka asked Emi, new excitement flaming within him.

Sho laughed. Emi snorted. "If you had been _listening_ you would know that I have no idea. Go find out for your self!" Emi flipped up her hand daintily.

"Erm… where would I go exactly?"

"To the building just south of here. At the end of the street, first house on the left of the intersection. Have fun…."

"Sokka. And Thanks." Sokka mumbled as shot out the door. He hoped they were taught what he thought it was…

Aang walked in the door, followed by Katara.

* * *

"Well… I don't think he's here." Aang said observantly as he studied the now empty café. Katara nodded sadly. They had been searching for hours and not a trace of him.

"Who's not here?" asked a girl, gliding up to Aang.

"Sokka." Katara said hurriedly. "Why? Have you seen him?"

Aang placed a hand on Katara's shoulder. "Calm down. I'm sure he's fine."

"Define, fine." The girl said, her words shinned with a tinge of annoyance. Aang looked at the girl quizzically. "Never mind…" the girl mumbled. "Yeah… he's ok. He's over at Ryo's place." The girl gestured a thumb over her shoulder, pointing to a building down the street.

"Thanks!" Katara said, relieved. She began to walk out the door.

"No wait! You can't go there!" the girl said jumping out to grab Katara's shoulder. "Uh… stay here. It's kind of a men only place…"

Katara looked at the girl wide-eyed. "What?"

"I'll go get him!" Aang volunteered bubbly. He didn't wait for a reply, but flew right out the door.

Katara looked at the girl again, concern pasted on her face. "What is he doing?"

The girl shrugged. "Warrior stuff probably."

Katara laughed with relief. "That sounds like Sokka."

The girl ignored her, examining her own hands silently.

"So... uh… what's your name?" Katara said nervously, trying to make conversation.

"Sho."

"Oh. Mine's Katara."

There was more silence.

"I wonder why all the guys take warrior classes." Katara commented, trying to pass on a good-hearted smile. "I mean, girls are just as capable, if not more so."

Sho looked up with burning eyes. "You're right." She replied, but said nothing more.

This silence was awkward, and Katara still tried to make conversation. "So…. what do you do around here?"

Sho jumped up suddenly, knocking over a jug of water, the contents spilling over.

"What I do, is none of your business." Sho replied, anger flaming up insider her. Katara could feel the heat radiating off Sho, and known she had asked the wrong question.

Katara eyed the spilled water on the floor, longingly. "Oh... sorry… Let me help with that." Flipping her hands oh-so-smoothly, the water lifted up off the ground and rose back into the water jug. Katara's bright and joyful eyes were only greeted with Sho's eyes lit up with a look of absolute horror.

"What's…. what's wrong?" Katara asked, placing a hand on Sho's shoulder. Sho dashed out of the room, leaving Katara baffled.

"Hey! Come back!" Katara yelled; but Sho was gone.

* * *

Sokka examined the building carefully. It looked pretty rundown. Not like a place he would go for training. The atmosphere seemed damp and suddenly the excitement in him was starting to freeze off. He shrugged. Looks could be deceiving. Jet was proof.

He strutted towards the door, taking a look around as he did so. Nobody was around, and it was suspiciously silent. Sokka placed a knuckle on the door, but it opened before he could knock. No one seemed to be behind the door and Sokka put a foot in the doorway.

Someone grabbed him and he was thrown to the ground.

"Hello Sokka. We've been expecting you."

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**Oh! Thanks for the whole two reviews! I'm not extremely pleased with how this chapter turned out, but hey…. It'll get better!**

**Please let me know what cha' think!**


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